Yemen refuses U.S. interrogation request, announces reward for information [Archives:2006/921/Local News]
SANA'A, Feb. 15 – On Tuesday, Yemen's Interior Ministry announced a YR 5 million reward ($25,600) for information on any of the 23 Al-Qaeda escapees who dug a tunnel out of their prison at intelligence service headquarters in the southern Sana'a suburb of Hadda on Feb. 3.
The ministry established a telephone number for information on the fugitives, assuring the public that it guarantees the highest degree of confidentiality for those providing tip-offs, Saba news agency reported.
The pro-government September 26 daily newspaper said a total of YR 115 million has been allocated to help apprehend the fugitives, whose pictures recently were distributed throughout Yemen's provinces to avert or prevent their smuggling abroad.
The United States' request to interrogate detainees held by security officials following the escape was rejected by Yemeni authorities. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Yemeni security official told media that authorities rejected the U.S. request because it would have violated Yemen's sovereignty; however, he didn't say when such request was made. Detainees include seven security officers and more than 105 individuals, mostly fugitives' relatives and members of Islamic groups.
Approximately 200 of the fugitives' relatives and friends, as well as several prison guards, were detained for interrogation, the latter of which also were suspended from their jobs. The detainees are suspected of passing information and tools to the escaped prisoners, media said.
Since the 23 men escaped, anti-terrorism units have conducted a huge search in Sana'a and other areas. Yemen issued international arrest warrants and asked Interpol to help find and arrest the escapees.
Last week, the White House expressed “enormous concern” about the threat posed by the fugitives. “They're dangerous individuals. It's a shame they've escaped. I'm hopeful that they'll be recaptured,” U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said as U.S. Navy ships patrolled Yemen's coast in a multinational effort to recapture them.
Among the escapees were 13 men convicted in the 2000 bombing of U.S. destroyer, the USS Cole, and the 2002 attack on French oil tanker, Limburg, in Aden.
Based on information from what it called informed sources, the September 26 newspaper last Tuesday reported new details about the tunnel through which the detainees fled their prison. Using steel food pots and cooking utensils, the men dug a 44-meter-long tunnel from their cell to a nearby mosque. They first dug three meters down from the cell floor and then continued toward the mosque, digging a tunnel measuring 60 by 80 centimeters wide.
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